The present application claims priority to Application No. 102 09 189.7, filed in the Federal Republic of Germany on Mar. 4, 2002, which is expressly incorporated herein in its entirety by reference thereto.
The present invention relates a vehicle seat.
German Published Patent Application No. 196 44 021 describes a vertically adjustable headrest for a vehicle seat. The headrest has a cushion carrier that engages from above into the back of the vehicle seat and is adjustable vertically by an electric linear drive. It is disadvantageous here that the adjustment capability of the headrest is not sufficient to achieve comfortable support of the head in all seat positions.
German Published Patent Application No. 31 16 208 describes a surgical chair having a headrest, the position of which is manually adjustable. The operation of this adjustment apparatus is very complex. Adjustment of the headrest can be performed only with difficulty by the seat occupant alone.
German Published Patent Application No. 100 22 441 describes a seatback for a vehicle seat having a so-called active headrest. The headrest height can be set manually. By a two-armed lever positioned in the seatback, in the event of a rear-end crash the headrest is accelerated toward the occupant""s head because the seat occupant""s body presses on the lever. This headrest as well is insufficiently adjustable, so that comfortable head support is not ensured.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a vehicle seat, having an adjustable seatback, which has a headrest that may ensure comfortable and secure head support in every possible seat position, may have a compact configuration, and may be as easy as possible to operate.
The above and other beneficial objects of the present invention may be achieved by providing a vehicle seat as described herein.
In an example embodiment, the vehicle seat has a height adjustment apparatus and a tilt adjustment apparatus. By the height adjustment apparatus, the height of the headrest is set in preselectable fashion so that good head support may be ensured for short and tall persons. In addition, the vehicle seat has a tilt adjustment apparatus that sets and/or modifies the tilt of the headrest and/or the spacing of the headrest from the seat occupant. The tilt adjustment apparatus is automatically driven and may be controlled such that the headrest may be moved into a freely preselectable position. To ensure a maximally compact and, in particular, robust arrangement of the tilt adjustment apparatus, the latter may be positioned in integrated fashion in the seatback. The tilt adjustment apparatus is joined to a cushion carrier of the headrest and acts on the latter to pivot the headrest about a pivot axis located in the seatback and extending transversely, so that the tilt adjustment apparatus modifies and/or adapts the spacing of the headrest from the seat occupant.
The placement of the pivot axis in the seatback may be selected so that upon adjustment of the headrest tilt, no vertical motion relative to the head may occur. The pivot axis may be positioned in a region corresponding approximately to the rotation point of head when sitting up into the reading position. Optimum adjustment of the headrest may thereby be achieved. Especially in the case of a vehicle seat having a pivotable backrest that may be pivoted between an upright seat position and a tilted reclining position, it is possible to ensure an optimum and/or comfortable setting of the headrest for all possible seat positions. With the seatback pivoted back, it is possible for the seat occupant to assume a resting position and for the headrest also to pivot back correspondingly. It is also possible, with the seatback pivoted back, to assume a relaxed reading position by swinging the headrest farther forward. Comfortable head support may therefore be guaranteed in every seat position, and the seat occupant may relax his or her neck muscles.
For convenient operation, provision may be made for the height adjustment device and/or tilt adjustment device to have a drive motor, e.g., an electric or pneumatic drive motor, etc. A preselected position may be easily arrived at, and/or a pleasant seating position for the seat occupant may be established, by activating the tilt adjustment device and/or height adjustment device, for example, by pressing a button.
An example embodiment provides for the height adjustment device to have a slide that may be moved up and down by a drive motor in the seatback. The slide may be arranged to retain the headrest cushion carrier by having a receptacle into which the cushion carrier of the headrest may be inserted, e.g., may be snap-locked, from above. The height of the headrest is thus varied as the slide moves up and/or down.
An example embodiment provides for the height adjustment apparatus to be mounted on the tilt adjustment apparatus, e.g., for the height adjustment apparatus to be joined by the tilt adjustment apparatus to a part of the seatback frame or to the seatback frame itself. In order to modify the tilt and/or the position of the headrest, the tilt adjustment apparatus pivots the height adjustment apparatus about a pivot axis. Since the headrest and the cushion are mounted on the height adjustment apparatus, the tilt adjustment apparatus acts indirectly, via the height adjustment apparatus, on the headrest in order to adjust the tilt and/or position.
The placement of the tilt adjustment apparatus and the height adjustment apparatus in the seatback may provide that the headrest may be adjusted with very little noise. In addition, the tilt adjustment apparatus and/or the height adjustment apparatus may have low-noise drives, e.g., an electric geared motor or spindle drive, etc., in each case, in order to ensure low-noise adjustment of the headrest.
It may be possible to use the vehicle seat according to the present invention in passenger cars, in buses, and in watercraft or rail vehicles, etc. Use of the vehicle seat according to the present invention as a comfortable passenger seat in aircraft is also provided.
Further features and example embodiments of the present invention are described below with reference to the Figures. The features and feature combinations described above and described below are usable not only in the particular combination indicated but also in other combinations or in isolation, without departing from the scope of the present invention.
Further example embodiments of the present invention are illustrated in and explained with reference to the Figures.